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Generations is still shipping, so there's no reason you shouldn't see them at Target and WM (TRU is stuck with too much old product right now). I also saw Thundercracker getting bought at WM a couple days ago.

Roadbuster is definitely a figure you need to have time with, 45 complex little steps each way, and some of it is in the wrong order, vague, or just incorrect, and out of the box it's a disaster of inobvious mistransformations due to... well, I don't know why the factory did those things actually, didn't have to be that way. It's not a shabby vehicle mode, although even with all the paint it has, the deco is weak compared to what the movie design asks of it (I've seen photos of the movie design, not the movie itself - that's a point of pride ). The robot mode is... well, let's just say that Tycho's overenthusiastic gushings about this figure are once again based on his hopes, since he hadn't opened it at the time of the post (and I believe still hasn't). Ok, let's also say that the figure has some good stuff going for it, but also shows signs of some of the weaker elements of Human Alliance, such as a mediocre waist design, and wonky shoulders, and loose kibble parts, and inaccuracy for no immediately-obvious reasons.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

I guess I lied. I opened Lugnut. He's pretty damned awesome. Plane mode is a bit sucktacular, but robot form is sweet.

I'm not sure what the "mandible" is supposed to be. Is it actually his lower jaw, which is how it appears in the pictures on the box? When it's in the down position, he has what looks like a rather Jetfire-esque face with a huge laser on the top.

Anyone know whats up with the Target re-paints? because frankly, outside of getting a new jet figure, they are ugly.

Nowhere in your incoherent ramblings did you come anywhere close to the answer. Thanks to you, everyone in this room is now stupider having heard you. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul. -Billy Madison-

HUGE WARNING about MP Rodimus from the US release. The instructions have been screwed up in several seemingly-small but INCREDIBLY VITAL ways, one of which led to me having to disassemble the head, and 2 others are so super wrong that the transformation CANNOT be completed as Hasbro shows them. The head has 2 fold-away faces, the Hot Rod face folds into the helmet, but the hinging makes it not work without knowing how each one goes, and there's a tab that can be easily bypassed, throwing the HR head into the back of the helmet where it won't be retrievable. The feet have to be put into a very specific position, which the US instructions either ignore or are so badly glossing over that they come off as completely ignorant. The hands position is inexcusably wrong, there is no vagueness here, the position they have those hands in is simple IMPOSSIBLE to finish the transformation with. The instructions are more than useless this way, they are actively making this figure MUCH WORSE. Instead, use the Japanese instructions, I think Hasbro copied them wholesale, took out the text obviously, and then tried to "improve" by simplifying a few steps and not understanding a few VITAL steps. Here's good scans of the instructions, I'll start you off on the robot mode's first page in the full-sized version (and I suggest you save these in case seibertron has to pull them down): http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...voy/2285/2/54/

As for Firebolt (named Offshoot in the packaging, it's an easy name to lose the rights to), the instructions show his weapon mode plugging the pistol grip into Hot Rod's vehicle mode engine, which is patently impossible. In fact, Firebolt was CLEARLY designed so that the grip folds up and the tab at the rear (it has the head on it), which remains where it is and plugs into the engine in a much lower-profile height, but does Hasbro know this, even though it's THEIR EXCLUSIVE FIGURE?!? No, of course not.

Anyway, MP Rodimus out of the package suffering Hasbro's blithering lack of understanding of the figure is downright horrible. It's only once you see how it's supposed to be done right that it becomes a decent figure. Vehicle mode is fairly satisfying, although Hasbro's cheapness here and there with obvious lacks of paint touches, and the use of stickers for the upper arms that are on white instead of silver (and why is there another Autobot faction logo as a sticker, alongside a Decepticon one? Not that I mind freebies of those, but why this set, what am I missing?). I'm really glad they didn't bother with the Rodimus Prime trailer, it would have been way too expensive and used almost none of the existing figure in vehicle mode (literally just the wing, and the back wheels are used as the fronts on RP, everything else is a huge shell). I do miss the original spoiler design, this isn't bad, but the other looked more like it was part of the vehicle, this is the more modern "bolted onto the center of the car" iteration that I find underwhelming. Some of the vac-metal has already come off, and the shin paint took a little damage right away. I guess that's the price of doing business with Hasbro these days.

And for the discussion about the Matrix, he does indeed come with 2, the little one is in his chest, the larger one is a different mold (but very similar to) the MP Optimus one.

Originally Posted by AFCollector

That mandible thing is his lower jaw, he's a re-do of the Animated character. I haven't seen the figure in person yet, so I dunno what's behind it, but the Animated figure had just the 1 eye.

Actually, the animated character has 5 eyes, one big eye and then a couple of little ones on either side of his head. And the RTS figure does too.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

I agree with everything JT said except I came to a different conclusion. I LOVE the Hasbro version, but primarily because I got the first Japanese version and the Hasbro version fixed virtually every problem I had - it's just a better figure (with an arguably less interesting deco). I'm wondering if anyone got the 2nd version of the Japanese Rodimus. I'm curious if it uses the same mold changes.

I didn't find the Japanese instructions particularly helpful with regards to the feet transformation. In order to get the car mode together and the wheels appropriately flush, they have to be in EXACTLY the right ratchet point and the thigh/shin joints have to be completely collapsed. I'm just thrilled that this version doesn't have all the issues I had with the first release. Anyone know of a company offering parts to repair my original? It so ****es me off that I spent so much on what amounted to a completely awful failed figure.

Thanks to Figrin Bran for getting me TF Prime Dlx Optimus from the HasbroToyShop disaster line. I messed with the figure yesterday. Here's a review, I guess...

The packaging is exceptionally nice, there's an outer box with 2 panels at the front, OP's chest windows, held together by a large "First Issue" fridge magnet. Inside the chest is the Matrix of Leadership bubble pack with the figure in the middle, the handles of the Matrix have a spongy lanyard through them to make it wearable, the lanyard is velcroed together for easy removal and sports Autobot logos inside tech detailing printed on one side. Beneath the Matrix is the instructions which are pretty important. The bubble Matrix package is merely taped closed for easy removal and replacement of the figure, inside are cardboard inserts which give it the golden Matrix look and spark burst behind the figure. It really is a top-drawer presentation, worth the extra $10 for a transfan.

OP is not properly transformed in package at his hands, which are halfway out of position. Popping them down reduces the kibble effect of the panels around them, but doesn't help with the overly-long arms. The robot mode looks good, but the dlx pricepoint doesn't really flatter the character so well. There are flaws beyond the long forearms, but it gets away with them pretty easily, except for the large box feet and maybe the thick facade chest "windows". Instead of having a gigantic chest and shoulders with spindly legs, the figure is more balanced making for a more satisfying appearance to me, someone who doesn't really like the TF Prime aesthetic all that much. The head sculpt, while a touch small for the overall body (it's scaled to the chest, but the chest isn't as overwhelmingly large as on the show), looks better than the show art thanks to sharp lines on the mouthplate (yay, no awkward mouth and missing nose!) and more traditionally-TF-shaped eyes. Except for a lack of silver paint on the top crest vents, it's pretty much everything one could want.

OP's gun is trying to straddle the line between looking like an extension of his forearm and a traditional hand-held TF weapon, and it does so pretty well. It has 2 grips, one recessed which fits most of the way over the hand, and the other forward of that which isn't recessed at all. The barrel has a blue stripe down either side, but no detail on the business end.

Range of motion is mostly pretty good, some parts are restricted, but overall it's good work. Lots of joints, Optimus isn't just a statue.

Transformation is very interesting, impressive for a deluxe. There's plenty going on without feeling like a rehash of anything which came before it and without forcing a massive amount of kibble cheating anywhere. There's even a fold-out trailer hitch which the gun can plug into, Hasbro seems to feel the barrel should only point out, but it actually fits nicely pointing into the vehicle's back.

Vehicle mode is pretty decent, more satisfying than I expected. It's a bit chibi compared to the show art (the show is more realistic while this is reimagined into more stylized angles), but in a beefy way that looks good. I didn't think I'd like the stylized look of TF:Animated figures, but I did; and now owning this Optimus, I fear I may be falling into that same trap again. There's no big problems, no weird gaps or ugly robot parts showing, nothing loose or problematic, and it has a 5mm trailer hitch that LOOKS LIKE A TRAILER HITCH - I suspect a trailer is coming inside of a year, probably for the Voyager but usable here too.

All in all, I think for TF Prime's first figure, this was a good choice - it's not crazy expensive, it's the main character, it's in terrific packaging with a wearable Matrix and a nice fridge magnet, and the figure has plenty going for it.

Originally Posted by AFCollector

Well I meant in the front, just the 1, but thanks.

Nice review of MP Rodimus, made my decision to keep my $'s in the bank all the easier.

Safe to assume you're not fiddling with it excessively? And the vac-metal stuff is already flaking? Yikes.

MP Rodimus is not a bad figure, I'd rate him in quality around MP Grimlock's level, it's cool to have. But it's just not as "wow" a piece as MP Prime or Starscream, and then Hasbro does all they can to torpedo the figure via instructions.

Excessively? No. Dude, the friggin' pipes started de-metalizing the moment I took it out of the package. It hasn't worsened since then, but the damage will force more to flake off over time no matter what I do.

Originally Posted by figrin bran

JT, thanks for the link to MP Rodimus's Japanese instructions. I know I went wrong somewhere because I wasn't able to conceal all the gaps in alt mode.

Sure thing. It was the first thing I did when I started running into trouble, googled the japanese instructions from my cell. Chaddy is right though that the Japanese instructions don't help with the feet angled in vehicle mode, there's a midpoint joint which isn't shown being engaged in either instructions, that's the crucial joint to use! Still, the hands, the other problems, there's a lot the US instructions should be ashamed about - the hands were heartbreaking really, the arms simply would not fit into the vehicle no matter how I did it, Hasbro's insisting this is the right way and it's not.

Originally Posted by Chaddymac

I agree with everything JT said except I came to a different conclusion. I LOVE the Hasbro version, but primarily because I got the first Japanese version and the Hasbro version fixed virtually every problem I had - it's just a better figure (with an arguably less interesting deco). I'm wondering if anyone got the 2nd version of the Japanese Rodimus. I'm curious if it uses the same mold changes.

I didn't find the Japanese instructions particularly helpful with regards to the feet transformation. In order to get the car mode together and the wheels appropriately flush, they have to be in EXACTLY the right ratchet point and the thigh/shin joints have to be completely collapsed. I'm just thrilled that this version doesn't have all the issues I had with the first release. Anyone know of a company offering parts to repair my original? It so ****es me off that I spent so much on what amounted to a completely awful failed figure.

Just to reiterate, I don't dislike MP Hot Rod, it's got a lot to like. It's just that I'm not WOW about it the way you are, but then again I didn't spend $200 for the Japanese release only to learn that TakaraTomy had screwed up the ratchets in the feet once I was all-in.

The ankle/foot joint is not actually that difficult, but you are right that the Japanese instructions miss that (or expect the joint to be weak enough to give when the arms are pushed against it, which may explain why the joints there failed on v1). But it's an easy thing once you know what to look for, simply make sure that midpoint joint is bending, and you're golden. 2 out of 3 times though, I forget until I'm at the last step - once I was able to fix the joint without detransforming back, but before that it was a real beast to get to.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.